LOS ANGELES, CA, November 04, 2009
/24-7PressRelease/ -- The first annual Ma dengn Beach Festival is scheduled to take place December 19-20, 2009 in Sierra Leone, West Africa. This inaugural event aims to bring national awareness to the region and increase travel and tourism in the country.
Ma dengn is the Kuranko word meaning let's meet or let's get together and the goal of this festival is to be an annual meeting place for friends, fans and artists. The Ma dengn Beach Festival was conceived out of a collective need to celebrate and promote the Sierra Leonean culture, through music, the arts, literature, cuisine and the beautiful terrain. A beach festival was chosen as the platform because it provides the opportunity to present multiple aspects of the Sierra Leonean culture in one setting, while showcasing one of the country's most prized and unique assets, its magnificent coastline beaches.
"Having lived outside Sierra Leone for 17 years and traveling around the world, one of the things I thought was missing here was our own international festival, it's a few days in the year where you can enjoy what we define as our culture in Sierra Leone," said Ma dengn Founder Sinkaire Sesay.
The vision for the beach festival is to have a dynamic interaction between performers and audience, with a variety of entertainment ranging from international and local, contemporary and traditional musicians/dancers, infamous masquerade performances, and exposure to Sierra Leonean literature through short skits and dramatic poetry. There will also be a good display of arts and crafts and an opportunity to taste tantalizing local cuisine. The beach setting will create a unique backdrop to such an event that will only enhance the enjoyment of the audience. The aim is to tap into the four corners of Sierra Leone to bring to the festival a diverse representation of the arts and culture, which will be a true showcase of the entire country.
"One of the greatest parts of Sierra Leone is our beaches, another part is our people, another part is our culture and all that we have to offer. Ma dengn as an association is invested in the future of Sierra Leone," said Ma dengn member Yeniva Sisay.
The festival has secured endorsements from the Sierra Leone Minister of Tourism and Culture, the General Manager of the National Tourist Board, the Mayor of Freetown and the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency. Additionally, the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Madam Sia Koroma, is a champion for this event. These individuals have all pledged the support of their offices to ensure the success of the festival.
For more information, please visit the Ma dengn Beach Festival website at http://www.facebook.com/madengn#/madengn?v=info
About The Ma dengn Association
The Ma dengn Association, organizers of the beach festival, is made up of mostly Sierra Leonean individuals of diverse skills, with a shared love of country and a strong drive to contribute to Sierra Leone's development. Each member freely volunteers their resources, skills, time and money to making the Ma dengn Beach Festival a reality. The association is registered with the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government as a Community Based Organization. An important tenet of the Ma dengn Association as a Community Based Organization is the requirement to give back to our communities, which in effect is the community of Sierra Leone because of the diversity of our members. We have chosen "Education in the Traditional Arts" as our project for this year's festival to which we will contribute some of the proceeds from the festival. This project will support our mission to celebrate and promote Sierra Leonean culture, by enhancing programs that preserve and grow our traditions and heritage. One community we have earmarked as a potential beneficiary is the progressive community of the No.2 River Beach, where the festival will be hosted.
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- africa, art, beach, culture, festival, international, leone, music, non-profit, sierra, sustainable, tourism, travel, west
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